drama.

I think this baby is a girl.

I really don't care one way or the other.

Just healthy. (and happy would be good, too! and sleepy.)

I told Corey the other night that I am so ready to be past this first stage. Just feeling exhausted and sick and sore and tired and worn out... Then I looked at him and said, "It's probably a girl." Someone at school asked if I felt this way when I was pregnant with Sophie. I said no, not really. But I feel that way around her now. :)

I love the little girl to pieces. I really do.

But she can be exhausting.

So much drama. So much attitude. So much sass.

And she saves it all for me.

Lucky me.

Things have gotten better.

Mornings were the worst. I called Corey one morning and told him that it was a good thing my blood pressure wasn't a concern. Oh, we've had some battles in the morning.

But things have gotten better.

We're trying some new things...

*fuzzy ball jar

Jessi started these at daycare last year. The kids each have a jar and they can get 3 fuzzy balls in it each day. The first one is if you are good for mommy in the morning. Totally changed our mornings last year. This still works for Lawson, but it obviously wasn't an incentive for Sophie anymore, since she doesn't go to Jessi's. So she now has one at school. She looked through my prize box at school and found some things that she liked (after she argued with me about whether or not I actually had a prize box.) She can get one in the morning, if she is sweet, one after school, and she can get extra ones if she actually talks to other adults and teachers that talk to her! (still working on the shyness.)

* wearing clothes to bed
Sophie only gets to wear pajamas Friday and Saturday nights now. She loves pajamas, so I thought this might be kind of a punishment, too, but she seems to like it. We almost always picked out her clothes the night before, but now we actually put them on and she sleeps in them. Tights, dresses, jeans, everything. It's made our mornings much less crazy, because there was always something in the morning that didn't feel right or didn't fit right or sleeves that were too short, etc.

* leggings

I had almost decided to never let Sophie wear a dress to school again. But we would still have the same problem Sunday mornings. Tights. The toes were always feeling funny. Which led to all sorts of crying and drama. So I bought her footless tights/leggings. She loves them, and the toes never feel funny. We did have a little drama about shoes, because I made a rule that you cannot wear socks with dress shoes. But we got over that and they really do look cute.

* early bedtime

We don't do this consistently (especially since I have pretty much been on the couch every night the last several weeks and SuperDad is doing bedtime solo.) But for awhile, she was going to bed 30-45 minutes before Lawson. And crashing. Yes, she's 2 1/2 years older than him, but, he stills takes a nap each afternoon. We would tell her, "When you can be sweet like Lawson in the morning, then you can go to bed when he does."

I'm feeling very encouraged after a talk with a good friend the other night. Her teenage daughter (who is our favorite babysitter) is delightful. She was bragging on her, saying how great she has been lately, how helpful, such a good attitude, etc. After her mom had surgery, she was the best. But... her mom told me that when this girl was Sophie's age, it was a whole different story. Attitude, drama, crying, yelling... it sounded so familiar. And really gave me hope that maybe we will get all of this out of our system now. Maybe I really will survive the teen years. Because I have said more than once, "If six is this hard... I can't imagine what 13 is going to be like!"

Sassy as she may be... I do love this little girl.

And only 20-some more days... and all our morning drama will be over.

At least for the summer.

cora love.

It's been 2 months since sweet Cora went to be with Jesus.
We knew this would be a hard weekend for Jess.
So this morning, about 25 of us gathered together at her mom's house for a surprise brunch.
We had delicous food (thanks, Kathy!) and got to present Jess with this...
a basket of "Cora Love."


We had all been buying things off of the Cora Paige Etsy site, and collecting them... just for Jess.


Very impressive poem, Kendall and Amanda! You two are talented!





Cora's Grammy saved a couple of her creations... since their Etsy shop sells out in a matter of hours!


A precious quilt made by Cora's other grandma... so soft and sweet.

Jess was excited to see her "Megan pillow!"

"I am encircled about eternally in the arms of His Love."

You are loved by so many, Jess.
Your life and your faith continue to be an inspiration to so many.
I'm so glad we could spend this morning with you, celebrating your precious Cora.

It was great to see you...
and great to see your smile.

so kind.

Our church just started a new ministry this year.
They've had Mom to Mom for several years... mentor moms, matched up with a group of younger moms, meeting one morning a month for support and encouragement.
But this fall, they started Mom to Mom, Evening Edition.
I think it's a wonderful ministry... one that has been somewhat neglected in the past.
We working mommies need all the support and encouragment we can get!

Yesterday, I got such a wonderful suprise...
The mentor mom from my table group called earlier in the day, and asked if she could bring supper to us that evening... just because she knows I haven't been feeling great and I am so tired in the evenings.

Corey wasn't home for supper last night, so we saved it for tonight.
A yummy looking chicken casserole, bread, salad and grapes.

Thank you, Becky, for being so sweet and thoughtful.
You truly made my day.

facebook.

I know some friends of mine aren't crazy about Facebook.
But I will say one thing about it...

it keeps people from forgetting your birthday!

I don't think I've ever had so many birthday wishes in one day!
Thanks, Facebook, for reminding everyone!

Happy Birthday to me! :)

dancing.

Saturday morning, all the ballet classes from Angel Feet performed their recital dances at a nursing home near the studio. Fun for the residents, and a nice little practice for nervous ballerinas.

I got to attempt my first bun in this baby fine hair. Some gel, hairspray and lots and lots of bobbypins... but it held. (even in the 40 mph wind!)


I watched the classes that danced before Sophie's group and marveled at all the different faces. Concentration... nervous... smiles... serious faces... and I wondered about Sophie.
She's a pretty shy little thing. She doesn't like to be the center of attention. She's not very comfortable around strangers.
I wondered how she would look.
Nervous? Stone faced? Scared?
None of these would have surprised me.

This not only surprised me,
it brought tears to my eyes...


That smile.

Most of my pictures were out of focus, but even through the blur, that smile is constant.


She looked like she was having so much fun!


The costumes were adorable.
The dance was sweet.
But that smile was my favorite part.
To see her out there... dancing away... truly enjoying herself.
Absolutely priceless.

snow.

This was the weather last weekend... the day before Lawson's birthday.
A week before this, we were having a picnic in the driveway, wearing shorts and going to the park. Crazy weather.




Two kids and one dog were very, very excited to get out in the snow...


and Daddy's a really good sport.





We thought Marley might miss her big furry coat in all this snow and cold, but she didn't seem to mind one bit.

treats.

We had a bit of a "dirt" theme going on for Lawson's birthday this year.
Appropriate for my messy little man, I thought. :)

He took these treats to pre-school and daycare...

Chocolate pudding... gummy worm... crushed Oreo dirt... and a flower.